Attachment for clothespins



June' 24 1924.

A. H. CLAUS ATTACHMENT FOR CLOTHESPINS Filed May 15, 1923 WITNESSES IN VEN TOR .ALH CZa 2w.

A TTORNEYS Patented 24, I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, ALBERT HERMAN CLAUS, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

ATTACHMENT FOR OLOTHESPINS.

Application filed m 15, 1923. Serial in. 039,172.

v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I ALBERT H. CLAUs, a citizen of the United tates, and resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Ore on, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Attachments for Clothespins, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in clothes pins, more particularly to an attachment for clothes pins for suspending clothes pins and the article engaged thereby from a line, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide an attachment which is adapted to be removably secured to a clothes pin and which affords facilities for releasably attaching the clothes pin to-a line, whereby the article to be suspended from the clothes in may be attached to the clothes pin and the latter then suspended from a line or removed from the line without there being any necessity of further manipulation of the article holding portion of the clothes pin.

A further object of the inventioiiis to provide an attachment of the character described which is of simplified construction and adapted to be applied to clothes pins of various known types of construction. Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 1s a perspective view showing a clothes pin equipped with a practical embodiment of the invention and suspended from a line.

Figure 2 is a side elevation illustrating the manner of manipulating the article gripping portions of the clothes pin after the latter has been equipped with an attachment embodying the invention,

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the manner of removably securing the attachment to one of the members of the clothes pin shown in the preceding views,

and

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a clothes pin whic is adapted to be equipped with the attachment.

a In the drawing, 1 show a clothes pin com prising cooperative similar members 1 and 2 respectively, each of which includes a handle portion 3 and a jaw portion 4. The

members 1 and 2 are hingedly connected intermediate their ends in the usual manner by a spring connector 5ihaving end portions 6 and 7 respectively pressing against the Q rear surfaces of the j aw'members 4 and thus tending to hold the jaws closed.

The parts described so far are of ordinary construction and form no part of my invention except in so far as they cooperate with the parts which will be hereinafter described.

As is well known, a clothes pin having the construction described or any other usual construction is engaged with the article to be supported thereby at the time the clothes pin is attached to a line, such as that indicated at 8 in Figure 1. The clothes pin must line and to the articles to be supported.

simultaneously cannot be accomplished conveni'ently' and without raisingthe arms to' strained and awkward positions, thereby causing considerable discomfort and fatigue to the operator, particularly when the weather is inclement.

In order to obviate the objectionable features of the ordinary type of clothes pin, such as the features just enumerated, my invention provides an attachment which is adapted to be removably secured to a clothes pin and which has means whereby it may be readily attached or removed from a clothes line without there being any necessity of manipulating the article engaging portion of the clothes pin at the time the latter is suspended from the line. To this end, an attachment embodyin the invention may comprise a substantially shaped body or hook indicated generally at 9 which may be formed of an elongated strip of a material possessing inherent resiliency bent at a 'point somewhat nearer one end than the other end thereof to rovide a relatively long shank 10 and a shorter bill 11. The shank 10 preferably is bowed outwardly or toward the bill 11 intermediate its ends so that the bill and shank are located in close relation ad'acent to the extremity of the bill, as indicated at 12, the extreme end portion of the bill being befilt 1gllitwsardlty filer the urposeo gui'gte 'e mo e specs between the bill and shank.

The outwardly bowed shank 10 is provided intermediate its length with a pair of rearwardly extending attaching lugs 13-13, which preferably are integral with the shank and are adapted to embrace one of the article engaging members of a clothes pin, which may be one of the members 1 and 2, whereby-the shank 10 will be held in contact adjacent to its ends with the rear face of the said one article engaging member of a clothes pin.

From the foregoing descri tion of the various parts of the device, t e operation thereof ma be readily understood. The articles which are to be sus nded from a line through the a my 0 clothes pins equipped with an em ent of the invention ma be attached to the clothes pins convenient y before the latter are attached to the line. For example, in inclement weather, the articles may be attached to the clothes pins while the operator is sheltered from the weather. The articles with the clothes ins attached may then be suspended from e line 8 b hooking the bill of the attachment over t e line. Since the shank of the attachment bows outwardly with respect to the clothes pin to which it is secured, and engages at its ends with the clothes pin, the

- stress placed on the'latter because of its connection with the hook which is suspended from the line will tend to hold the clothes pin against movement in the direction of its length relatively to the supporting hook.

If desired, the article supported, the clothes pin and the hook attachment maybe removed as a unit from the line or the article" may be detached from the clothes pin withollllt lifmoving the clothes pin and hook from t e 'ne.

Obviously, my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that illustrated in the accompanying drawing and I therefore consider as my own all modifications and adaptations of the form of the device herein described which fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Havin thus describe the invention, what I c aim is 1. As an article of manufacture, an attachment comprising a substantially U-shaped bod made of a material possessing inherent resi iency, one of the ,members of said U-shaped body being relatively long and having intermediate its length a pair of cooperative attachin elements adapted to embrace a portion 0 a clothes 1n to secure bod made of a material possessing inherent resi iency, one of the members of said U-shaped body being relatively long and having intermediate its length a pair of cooperative attachin elements adapted to embrace a portion 0 a clothes pin to secure said U-shaped body to the clothes in, said longer member of=the U- haped bo y being bowed intermediate its length toward the second member of the U-shaped body, and

the second member being bent outwardly at its extreme end portion.

ALBERT HERMAN CLAUS. 

